Medical guidewires are devices that may be used to assist in the positioning of catheters, stents, and other medical devices in the circulatory, lymphatic, and other systems. Typically, a user will insert the guidewire percutaneously, and proceed to feed the guidewire through the vasculature system. The user may navigate the guidewire through branches in the vasculature. In one application, when the guidewire reaches a desired location, a catheter, stent, or other device may be advanced over the path defined by the guidewire and subsequently placed at the desired location.
The width of a guidewire is generally correlated with the width of the vasculature system of intended use. For example, diameters from 0.010″ to 0.038″ are common guidewire sizes in the medical field. The length of a guidewire may be limited by the type of procedure and/or the desired location within the vasculature. Lengths ranging from 50 cm to 450 cm are common. As a result, guidewires are often long and slender and it depends upon the skill of a particular user to manipulate and advance the guidewire in use.